Ani Petrosyan
Research expert for cybersecurity and cybercrime
United States internet user demographics, by gender - statistics & facts
The United States not only has one of the biggest internet user bases worldwide but also shows a high degree of representation of its population on the internet. Furthermore, over the last decade, internet usage penetration among women and men in the United States has remained relatively balanced. As of 2023, roughly 94 percent of men and 96 percent of women in the United States were using the internet.
In 2024, four in ten men said the primary way to go online at home was a broadband connection, while three in ten women used a mobile connection via smartphone or a tablet. More often than men, women use a smartphone regularly to go online.
Variety of online activities among two groups
The increasing availability of the internet and various gadgets suggests a whole range of online activities for everyone. Online dating, for example, has certainly became more popular in recent years. In the United States, men are more prominent users of online dating services than women, with 33 percent of users being women and 67 percent – men. In the meantime, the most performed activity by smartphone users was sending e-mails, followed by listening to music, both performed more by women than men. Online gaming has overcome the reputation of male-dominated activity and is nowadays nearly equally distributed between men and women.The concept of the platform determines the audience
As of January 2023, the overall share of female social media users in the United States was larger than the male user share. The most significant gender-related gaps were in the usage of Pinterest and BeReal. In the case of Pinterest, the audience was predominantly female, and BeReal was more popular among men. Platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, which primarily provide visual content, were more favored among women. Platforms that are more focused on discussions and networking, such as Reddit, Twitter, and LinkedIn, saw higher usage among male audiences.Men and women experience online environments differently
As of March 2023, more men than women stated having experienced online harassment. Despite this, men do not seem to be as concerned as much. More women than men think scam texts, e-mails, and calls are a severe problem. Having a mobile internet connection anywhere at any time seems to be more crucial to women than men. Furthermore, men are more excited and willing to use AI apps, such as ChatGPT, in their daily lives - a similar gap exists in the attitude toward online data privacy. Gender parity in internet access in the United States has hardly been a concern. However, there is a specific divergence in the experiences of both groups in the online space. In the United States, the main difference between men and women using the internet is how they perceive the threats and negative experiences online.
